2013: On the front page of the Daily News, Club Crave, at Fourth and Beale streets, had been closed as a public nuisance under a General Sessions Environmental Court order. The order followed a Christmas Eve shooting at the club that killed one person and injured two more. Memphis Mayor A C Wharton Jr. vowed the city would seek to demolish the building. The club still stands but has not reopened since.

Filing opens for candidates in more August races

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam will be seeking a second term as governor, and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander will be running for re-election – both starting with the Aug. 7 statewide primaries that open for filing Friday, Jan. 3.

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Whether it’s on television, on the radio, in print or around town, Lipscomb Pitts Breakfast Club President Jeremy Park seems to be everywhere, and a quick scan of his professional history reveals a similarly expansive career.

Newman’s historic Memphis photos on display

As the Memphis Police Department backlog of rape kits moves into federal court with the new year, there will be another attempt to change Tennessee laws to delay the statute of limitations in rape cases to start running when rape kits are processed.

In less than a month, the Association for Women Attorneys will host its annual bash that includes a silent auction, cocktail reception and an award presented to a prominent member of the legal community.

Nothing Bundt Cakes franchise opens in East Memphis

Standard & Poor’s, one of the big three bond-rating agencies, has assigned a AA rating to the city’s general obligation bonds and the revenue bonds proposed for use in a city purchase of AutoZone Park, and has given the city’s financial health a “stable” outlook on both fronts.

The first Tunica Furniture Market is ramping up to descend on Gold Strike Casino Resort and Harrah’s Tunica Jan. 8-9, with approximately 60,000 square feet of showroom space displaying furniture available for purchase by retailers.

Memphis hotel market battles sluggish 2013

The Memphis hotel market is being classified as somewhat sluggish in 2013 because of slower than anticipated convention traffic, but hotels such as the Memphis Marriott East and Downtown’s Madison Hotel reported busier second halves of the year.

You can’t really call this forward James Johnson’s second chance because the Memphis Grizzlies are his fifth NBA team, if you count his four preseason games with the Atlanta Hawks before being released last October.

1) A shout-out to Tennessee State Parks’ First Hikes of 2014 program. My wife and 15-year-old son and I spent part of our New Year’s Day hiking 5.8 miles at Fort Pillow State Park in Henning. Great way to step into the New Year. Even if we did order pizza after returning home.

Jittapong “J.T.” Malasri, a civil engineer with Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division, says his father probably knew his son would go into the engineering field long before he himself did. And his father, Siripong Malasri, should know – he was the dean of the School of Engineering at Christian Brothers University before returning to the classroom to teach and chair various departments.

Ben Makino has joined Opera Memphis as the company’s music director. The conductor and pianist, who most recently worked with the Long Beach Opera in Long Beach, Calif., previously served as the music director of Opera Memphis’ inaugural 30 Days of Opera in 2012.

January is the perfect time to begin working on your 2014 plan. As you prioritize your New Year’s resolutions, consider a career cleanup along with your plans to go to the gym more often. If you’ve been thinking of a career change, whether it’s an internal promotion or moving to a new company or field altogether, this is the perfect time.

With the rapid technological advancements that have accompanied the Information Age, the “selling process” has been shifting toward more of a “buying process” for years, as most buyers engage in significant online research prior to ever engaging a sales rep. Today’s buyers are further along in the sales process, with a much clearer understanding of what they need before your sales reps ever get their shot.

Ray’s Take: It was a great holiday. The decorations sparkled, the food was opulent, and the gifts were worthy of the best Santa Claus. However, in a tradition nearly as old as the holiday itself, now the mailbox is stuffed with bills and your bank account is depleted.

Happy New Year! Are you beginning 2014 with your hopes pinned on a bountiful new year? Does your vision of December 2014 include smiling faces as you toast members of your fundraising team, celebrating a year that broke fundraising records? Are you dreaming of fundraising success, or are you planting seeds that can bear fruit this year and for years to come?

The renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, when asked which one of the many buildings he designed was his favorite, without hesitation replied, “My next one.” The new year that stretches out in front of us has the same potential to be the best yet, for Memphis and for each of us.